Discovery of liturgy as a theological science and its relationship with the human sciences

Abstract

The article deals with the discovery of the Sacred Liturgy as a theological science from the 19th century onwards. The text seeks to present the context and theological motivations that drove the work of so many theologians to claim the position of the Church’s liturgy on an equal level with other theological sciences that have their own object of investigation. For this, the theologian Andréa Grillo, helps us to go through and recover some aspects of the path of this “discovery”, presenting in a precise way the advances of all this work. In a second moment, the text presents the liturgy as a theological science in its relationship with other sciences such as sociology, anthropology, trying to present the relevance and articulation of these within the celebrative practice in which men and women are involved. For this reading, the text uses some positions of the Church’s magisterium, such as the document of the Medellín Conference and the Sacrosanctum Council, to present the efforts and results of the Church of Latin America in situating the Church’s ritual celebration in the daily life of Latin American people.